Hyderabad: Agriculture is the predominant occupation in India. Indian economy is based on agriculture. However, 60 % of the country's sown area is still the rain-fed and as a result, is prone to the twin problems of floods and droughts.
Recent floods that swept the majority of the farmlands have significantly damaged the Indian agriculture affecting the food security of over 1.3 billion population.
Food Inflation
Besides adversely impacting the farmer's income, recent floods have set the alarming bells for the near-term high food prices. Reports suggest that tomatoes, onion, garlic, etc are no longer in the affordable zone for the common man in the country.
Further, experts believe that the on-going floods across the country going to threaten income security of agri-allied activities like dairy, poultry, fishing and livestock in the coming seasons.
Long-term impacts
Indian agriculture has been going through a rough patch. The problems of the sector, which is beset with problems like small landholdings, low production, low productivity and chronic indebtedness, will be further accentuated by the recent floods due to low production and soil erosion.
For instance, crops in over 4 lakh hectares were damaged in western and northern parts of the Maharashtra affecting lakhs of cash crop growers. The consequent low rural demand would definitely impact various other sectors of the economy of the State.
Need for effective strategies
Due to climate change, floods and droughts have become a recurring phenomenon. To minimize losses, farmers should be provided with real-time data about weather conditions, efficient foodgrain storage infrastructure facilities and affordable crop insurance services.
Further, a committee of experts should be appointed to study the impact of floods on Indian agriculture.
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